Romelu Lukaku: Why Manchester United is signing a goal machine

The biggest gist in the footballing world right now is the imminent transfer of Romelu Lukaku from Everton to Manchester United. The really surprising part of this transfer is the mixed reaction from fans of Manchester United as a lot of them do not believe that the big Belgian will be the man to solve their goal scoring issues despite his impressive scoring record in England. If this deal goes through, it will be in the region of £75m, reports say, and that will be a record transfer between British clubs.

The transfer in itself is a sort of surprise as Alvaro Morata had been the striker Manchester United were keen on getting this season, while Romelu Lukaku was reported as being on his way to reunite with Chelsea, his former employers. While Lukaku has proven that he can score goals especially in the Premier League, Morata would have been a gamble of sorts that United hierarchy aren’t willing to take.

Manchester United is desperate for goals
Despite having a wealth of gifted attacking players in their ranks, Manchester United were very wasteful in front of goal last season and this is where the capture of Lukaku will bode well for them. The 20-time champions ranked fourth in the Premier league for (447) chances created, behind Tottenham Hotspur (504), Liverpool (496) and Manchester City (482), but placed eighth in goals scored (54). The top three all scored more than 80 goals and United’s inability to see off teams led to damaging home draws against Swansea City, West Bromwich Albion, Bournemouth, Hull City, West Ham, Burnley and Stoke City. Their conversion rate of 13 percent was disgraceful and was the fourth worst in the English premiership, ahead of only Sunderland (11.6%), Middlesbrough (11.3%) and Southampton (10.7%).

Lukaku betters Zlatan Ibrahamovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic finished as United’s top scorer last season with 28 goals in all competitions, even though a nasty injury ended his campaign abruptly. However, despite the impressive number of goals the big Swede scored last season, he was very wasteful inside the penalty area, missing seventeen clear-cut chances to emerge as the most wasteful player in the Premier League. This is one area where United will enjoy Lukaku as the Belgian gobbles up, very quickly, chances inside the box while adding the physicality that Ibrahimovic also adds to the frontline. Lukaku’s conversion rate of 22.7% compared to Ibrahimovic’s 14.8%, means the Belgian will require far fewer attempts to score, than Ibrahimovic will. Lukaku may not be the most creative striker in the league and his link-up play might not be as good as Zlatan’s, but United had trouble putting the ball in the net last season, and this is something Lukaku does expertly.

Young and promising strength
Lukaku is just 24 and is yet to hit the peak of his footballing powers, but he has increased his goal tally consistently year on year since he was sent on loan from Chelsea. He has also shown that he is deadly against the so-called lesser team in the EPL, with 70 of his 85 Premier League goals coming against the teams outside the top six, most of which Manchester United could not breakdown last season. Lukaku is the powerful centre forward that fits the Mourinho striker-mould, and the thought of combining with his close pal, Paul Pogba, to wreak havoc on EPL defenses should make United fans relish his capture. He can score with both feet and is strong in the air, and there is plenty of time for further improvement.

The EPL title or nothing
Recall that Alvaro Morata was the initial favourite striker to lead the line at Old Trafford next season before Romelu Lukaku news broke. One major reason why Manchester United might take the Belgian over the Spaniard is the fact that Lukaku has proven that he can deliver the goods in the EPL and the league title is the most coveted title by Manchester United and its fans right now. Winning it will show that they are back in the big time. The Red Devils haven’t won the title since Sir Alex Fergusson retired from his position as their manager in 2013 and the 20-time champions badly want to get their hands back on that trophy, which is one of the reasons why they would rather take a striker that has shown what he’s capable of in the competition than one that hasn’t experienced it at all. Morata is the more experienced of the strikers when it comes to European competitions, but the EPL is Manchester United’s first priority and for that Lukaku seems the more logical choice.